What’s going on in the world has many people feeling afraid, stressed out, overwhelmed and just all around not good. I for one am not immune to those feelings. One thing that I find a lot of comfort in during hard times is TV shows. I look to them to escape reality for a while and to enter a seemingly easier world where problems can be cleared up at the end of an episode or a season. Personally, as a queer woman, I like to watch very LGBTQ+ positive shows, and I have compiled a list of the best ones I have come across in my travels.

Sense8

Since its release, this Netflix sci-fi series has gotten both viewer and critical acclaim, and I think it’s well deserved. Sense8 is the story of eight strangers who realize that they are all mysteriously connected after each experiencing the same vision. The characters are all from different backgrounds and parts of the world and are diverse in race, sexual orientation and gender. To top it all off, the show was written by the Wachowski sisters, who are both transwomen. You can watch season one plus their Christmas special on Netflix now.

Take My Wife

This sitcom is about the lives of real-life married couple and comedians Carmen Esposito and Rhea Butcher. The show is a dramatized version of things that actually happened to them as they work their way to becoming famous comedians. I love and recommend this show because it feels like any old sitcom you would watch. Carmen and Rhea deal with money troubles, finding jobs, relationships and all the normal sitcom stuff, but there is a fresh take on it since they are a lesbian couple. It is also wonderful to see a lesbian couple portrayed like, well, a normal couple in a TV show. Oh, and it’s pretty funny too. Take My Wife season one is available on Amazon.

Yuri!!! on Ice

This anime series is so good that someone like me, who doesn’t watch anime, fell in love with it. It’s about a young Japanese figure skater, Yuri Katsuki, who isn’t doing so well professionally until his idol (Victor Nikiforov, the world’s top figure skater) shows up one day and offers to be his coach. This show portrays a loving gay relationship flourishing in an environment free of hate. The creator, Mitsurō Kubo, has stated that the world she created has no hate in it and that everyone is supportive of different sexual orientations. With loveable characters, a great plot and even an adorable dog, there is nothing to not love about Yuri!!! on Ice. I highly recommend it. Season one is available on Crunchyroll.

I’ve always been someone who used TV shows to escape, and I find the most comfort in the worlds that shows like Sense8, Take My Wife, and Yuri!!! on Ice create—worlds that are so full of diversity and celebrate that diversity. Maybe it’s just the dreamer in me that likes to watch these shows because I think that one day we could have that kind of world and that with a lot of work and love we could all celebrate the diversity that makes this world what it is. Even if it’s not like that now, for the next thirty minutes while I watch Yuri skate, it is.